Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the reintroduction of flights from Wick to Shetland.

Nicol Stephen: The reintroduction of flights from Wick to Shetland is a matter for airlines in conjunction with Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, which operates Wick Airport. The commencement or reintroduction of any commercial air service would be in response to market demand.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the introduction of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill will have on the Children’s Panel system.

Ms Margaret Curran: The bill’s provisions will build on and strengthen the children’s hearings system. Provisions such as the duty on local authorities to fulfil supervision requirements and the introduction of electronic tagging in the hearings system will reinforce the ability of hearings to ensure that action is taken and enforced.

Apprenticeships

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of recruits to the modern apprenticeship programme complete their training with a positive outcome.

Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The information requested is not held centrally.

Bankruptcy

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans for further consultation on the reform of bank arrestments.

Mr Jim Wallace: We intend to consult on proposals for the reform of arrestment and furthcoming as part of the reform of the laws of personal bankruptcy and diligence, later in this parliamentary year.

Bankruptcy

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will work with local authorities in the context of the proposed Personal Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill to ensure that bank arrestments are not served on individuals whose state benefits are paid into (a) personal bank accounts or (b) Post Office card accounts.

Mr Jim Wallace: Local authorities will be included in the consultation on proposals for the reform of arrestment and furthcoming as part of the reform of the laws of personal bankruptcy and diligence, later in this parliamentary year.

Bankruptcy

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what options it has considered to protect people whose state benefits are paid into (a) personal bank accounts or (b) Post Office card accounts from bank arrestments as part of the proposed Personal Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill.

Mr Jim Wallace: Discussions are continuing with the Department of Work and Pensions on proposals for the reform of arrestment and furthcoming following from the consultation document Enforcement of Civil Obligations in Scotland .

Benefits

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Personal Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill will end the practice of bank arrestment being used as a form of diligence against those who receive state benefits by way of (a) personal bank accounts or (b) Post Office card accounts.

Mr Jim Wallace: We recognised, in our April 2002 Enforcement of Civil Obligations in Scotland consultation  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/justice/CivOb-00.asp , the need for protecting those living on subsistence levels from the effects of the arrestment of their social security benefits when in their bank or other accounts. Respondents supported but gave no clear preference for the solutions offered. We are combining the best elements of these options with further discussions with the UK departments on the practicalities of delivery into proposals for reform of the law of diligence to be consulted upon in this parliamentary year. This is a complex matter. I will write to the member with more detailed background information and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Culture

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it has in determining whether the National Anthem or any other national song is formally played at public events.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has no role in these matters. Arrangements for the selection and playing of tunes at public events are a matter for the organisers of the event.

Economy

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3668 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 November 2003, which public limited companies have had their registered offices in Scotland as a result of commencing trading in each year since 1997.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Claire Clancy, the Chief Executive of Companies House, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Companies House is a Registry, and as such information held on record on public limited companies can be accessed either from our website www.companieshouse.gov.uk or from our contact centre on 0870 33 33 636. There is a charge for some information, although some is free.

  The information requested on the names of the 128 public limited companies incorporated in Scotland in the financial years 1996-97 to 2001-02 is given in a table New Scottish PLCs, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30159).

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2833 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 October 2003, whether any of the 57 projects in 2002-03 did not begin; how many of the 7,159 jobs are still in situ, and whether any of the £205.2 million investment was withdrawn.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2833 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 October 2003, whether any of the 78 projects in 1998-99 did not begin; how many of the 10,867 jobs are still in situ, and whether any of the £761.2 million investment was withdrawn.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2833 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 October 2003, whether any of the 91 projects in 1999-2002 did not begin; how many of the 19,334 jobs are still in situ, and whether any of the £650.1 million investment was withdrawn.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2833 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 October 2003, whether any of the 102 projects in 2000-01 did not begin; how many of the 14,346 jobs are still in situ, and whether any of the £1,763.3 million investment was withdrawn.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2833 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 October 2003; whether any of the 59 projects in 2001-02 did not begin; how many of the 6,386 jobs are still in situ, and whether any of the £272.2 million investment was withdrawn.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.

  When the figures for planned inward investment projects are released it is made clear that they are based upon information available at the time the inward investment decision is made and that some projects may not proceed while others may be reduced in scale as a result of the economic environment. Equally, however, some projects may lead to more investment and more jobs than originally anticipated.

  A detailed analysis carried out covering the period 1991 until 1999 showed that around 73% of all announced investment came to fruition.

European Funding

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to seeking, or supporting, access to Marco Polo funds from the European Commission; what action it has taken to access such funds, and what routes it considers may be appropriate for such funding.

Nicol Stephen: The European Commission has already issued a call for applications for Marco Polo funding by 10 December 2003. In the following months, all eligible applications will be assessed by a panel of officials from each member state. The panel will receive advice from the Commission on the quantative benefits of proposals under Marco Polo rules. The UK Government and the Scottish Executive do not believe it is appropriate to support individual proposals until such time as we have seen the full spread of eligible applications involving Scotland and the UK and had the opportunity to assess the merits of each.

Exam Results

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to assist Glasgow City Council to improve Scottish Qualifications Agency exam performance amongst its pupils.

Peter Peacock: The National Priorities in Education and the school improvement framework are the vehicles through which we work with education authorities and schools to help secure improvement. The Executive supports education authorities and schools to reflect upon how improvement can be achieved through encouraging self-evaluation and providing examples of successful practice. As part of the drive for improvement, all publicly funded secondary schools have set targets for exam performance for 2005.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-715 by Allan Wilson on 13 November 2003, what appropriate measures it is taking to bring stability to the European salmon market and reduce the risk of a recurrence of dumping.

Allan Wilson: The Executive and the Department of Trade and Industry are presently considering the case for "safeguard measures" under the terms of EC Regulation 3285/ 94 and 519/84 (the Safeguards Regulation).

Forensic Science

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3413 by Cathy Jamieson on 12 November 2003, whether it will now consider recording this information on the submission of fingerprint evidence and collecting it centrally and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Cathy Jamieson: We do not at present have any plans to collect centrally information on the number of cases where the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) has submitted fingerprint evidence and the accused has been found guilty.

  It is for the Crown to decide what evidence is led in criminal cases. There will not, therefore, necessarily be a direct link between the submission of fingerprint evidence by SCRO and the outcome of a particular case.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of self harm, other than suicide attempts, have, after hospital treatment, resulted in referral to (a) further out-patient treatment, (b) a social worker, (c) a mental health professional and (d) a voluntary care body, in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This question cannot be answered from national data.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of self harm, other than suicide attempts, have resulted in hospital admissions in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Table 1 presents information about the number of episodes in Scotland in the last five years where a diagnosis of self harm is reported. It is not possible to determine from national data whether for any episode the incident of self harm was a suicide attempt or not.

  In-patient And Day Case Discharges1 From Acute General and Psychiatric

  Hospitals in Scotland with Any Mention of a Diagnosis of Intentional Self Harm2

  

  
 Year End
31-Mar
1998
 Year End
31-Mar
1999
 Year End
31-Mar
2000
 Year End
31-Mar
2001
 Year End
31-Mar
2002P


 Acute General Hospitals
 17,166
 16,311
 16,218
 14,656
 16,153


 Psychiatric Hospitals
 140
 149
 140
 129
 131



  Ref: IR2003-01510, Date: 28 November 2003.

  Source: ISD Scotland SMR01, SMR04.

  PData for psychiatric hospital discharges in 2001-02 are provisional.

  Notes:

  1. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of in-patient or day case care rather than individual patients. The same patient may therefore account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the table above. In addition the figures for acute general and psychiatric hospitals are not mutually exclusive. For example, a patient may be admitted to an acute general hospital (SMR01) and then subsequently admitted to a psychiatric unit (SMR04). Such a patient will be counted twice, once in the discharge figures for acute general hospitals and again for their episode in a psychiatric hospital.

  2. Intentional self harm is defined as International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD10) codes X60 to X84.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of self harm, other than suicide attempts, have been treated in accident and emergency departments in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This question cannot be answered from national data. However, work is underway to establish an agreed clinical dataset for accident and emergency (A&E). This would address issues such as information on reasons for admittance to A&E. A nationally co-ordinated procurement exercise is shortly to be concluded to establish a framework contract which will enable those hospitals which do not have up-to-date A&E computer-based support systems to obtain one. When all A&E units have such a system and an agreed clinical dataset is implemented the type of information sought will be accessible.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on publicity by the Greater Glasgow NHS board in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for Greater Glasgow NHS Board.

Health Promotion

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the quality of life fund and health promotion budgets will be used to encourage better access to swimming pools and other sports facilities to the benefit of constituents of Greenock and Inverclyde.

Mr Andy Kerr: In the three-year spending review period, we are more than doubling the money allocated to health improvements in Scotland. This will include expanding the active primary schools programme and supporting a school sports development officer in every secondary school to raise the level of physical activity for school children.

  Inverclyde Council will receive £3.099 million over the three-year period to 2005-06 for Quality of Life projects. Quality of life funding is aimed at two specific themes: "Increasing Opportunities for Children and Young People" and "Improving the Local Environment". It is up to councils to allocate their funding to specific projects in line with these themes.

  Inverclyde Council have chosen to allocate their Quality of Life funding as follows:

  

 Inverclyde QOL


 Children and 
  Young People


  
 Organised 
  Play
and Play Areas
 Youth
Projects
 Leisure 
  Access
(15-26 yrs)
 Local
Clubs
 Total
(£ million)


 2003-04
 0.109
 0.000
 0.055
 0.000
 0.164


 2004-05
 0.000
 0.150
 0.000
 0.050
 0.200


 2005-06
 0.000
 0.150
 0.000
 0.050
 0.200


 Total
 0.109
 0.300
 0.055
 0.100
 0.564



  

 Inverclyde QOL


 Local Environment
 Roads 
  and Pavements
 Road 
  Safety Provisions
 Neighbourhood 
  Safety (inc. lighting and CCTV)
 Community 
  Regeneration
 Graffiti 
  and Vandalism
 Litter, 
  Dog Fouling and Abandoned Cars


 


 2003-04
 0.210
 0.000
 0.097
 0.000
 0.000
 0.025


 2004-05
 0.000
 0.210
 0.150
 0.097
 0.157
 0.000


 2005-06
 0.000
 0.210
 0.150
 0.097
 0.324
 0.000


 Total
 0.210
 0.420
 0.397
 0.194
 0.481
 0.025


 Inverclyde QOL


 Local Environment
 Parks, 
  Cemetaries and Open Spaces
 Provision 
  for Elderly and Disabled
 Flood 
  Prevention
 Recycling 
  and Waste Management
 Transport 
  Initiatives
 Other
 Total
(£ million)


 


 2003-04
 0.092
 0.119
 0.000
 0.053
 0.000
 0.106
 0.702


 2004-05
 0.000
 0.000
 0.119
 0.000
 0.100
 0.000
 0.833


 2005-06
 0.000
 0.000
 0.119
 0.000
 0.100
 0.000
 1.000


 Total
 0.092
 0.119
 0.238
 0.053
 0.200
 0.106
 2.535

Holyrood Inquiry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its latest estimate is of the cost of the Holyrood Inquiry led by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive expects Lord Fraser to contain expenditure on the investigation into the costs of the Holyrood building project within the agreed budget of £1.2 million.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to any concerns by surveyors that the pilot sellers’ surveys may operate in the interest of the seller.

Ms Margaret Curran: For buyers and their lenders to have confidence in a survey that is commissioned by a seller, it will have to provide objective, reliable and reasonably comprehensive information on the condition of the house. Surveyors are disinterested professionals and we expect that they will produce a single survey that meets the needs of both sellers and buyers and will be accepted by all parties.

  We do, however, anticipate a benefit to the seller in terms of improved marketing of their property and increased confidence in the condition of the house.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any added liability placed on a seller in the pilot sellers’ survey schemes.

Ms Margaret Curran: There are no plans to amend the current common law principle of caveat emptor or "buyer beware" .

Influenza

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address influenza in senior citizens.

Malcolm Chisholm: Everyone aged 65 years and over is eligible for free influenza vaccination.

  In order to maximise uptake, the Executive implemented a multi-faceted publicity campaign which included television and press advertisements, public information posters and leaflets, and resources for health professionals. In addition, flu co-ordinators in each NHS board area issued individual letters to all those eligible for immunisation on age grounds. The letter reminded individuals of their eligibility and urged them to contact their GP practice.

  The cost of the flu vaccine for the immunisation programme is expected to total around £3 million. Associated payments to GPs for the flu immunisation programme as a whole will total around £7 million.

Influenza

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of influenza in senior citizens have been reported this winter in each NHS board area and how many such cases have resulted in deaths.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health publishes a weekly report on influenza trends in Scotland, based on information provided by a network of general practitioners and specialist laboratories. They do not normally contain detailed information relating to the age of those with influenza or influenza-like illnesses. The reports are available on http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/ .

  Information on the reported cases of influenza in senior citizens in each NHS board area and how many such cases have resulted in death is currently not available for this winter.

  That said, even during a major influenza outbreak, the underlying cause of death is rarely classified as influenza, and doctors do not often mention influenza on the certificate of cause of death. It is known that deaths from a number of other causes, notably pneumonia and other respiratory conditions, increase significantly during a period of high influenza activity. However, there is no standard method of associating a proportion of these extra deaths with influenza activity.

Maternity Services

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many neonatal intensive care cots there have been in each NHS board area in each year since 1996-97.

Malcolm Chisholm: The specific information requested is not held centrally.

  Data is collected centrally on beds and activity for neonatal units. A neonatal unit is a facility which provides neonatal special care and/or neonatal intensive care for sick babies. It is not possible to separate the information into care types i.e. intensive and special care. The following table shows the average number of cots available in neonatal units for years ended 31 March 1997 to 2002 by NHS board area.

  Average Staffed Beds in Neonatal Units by NHS Board and Financial Year

  

 NHS Board
 1996-97
 1997-98
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02


 Scotland
 404
 468
 418
 381
 375
 351


 Ayrshire and Arran
 25
 25
 25
 25
 25
 25


 Borders
 -
 -
 -
 -
 8
 8


 Argyll and Clyde
 28
 28
 28
 27
 27
 28


 Fife
 20
 20
 20
 20
 20
 20


 Glasgow
 94
 *166
 115
 **79
 77
 78


 Highland
 20
 20
 20
 20
 20
 18


 Lanarkshire
 44
 44
 44
 44
 43
 ***24


 Grampian
 41
 44
 44
 44
 42
 41


 Lothian
 60
 58
 58
 59
 59
 59


 Tayside
 34
 34
 34
 34
 25
 22


 Forth Valley
 25
 17
 17
 17
 17
 17


 Dumfries and Galloway
 12
 12
 12
 12
 12
 12



  Source: ISD Scotland (Form ISD(S)1).

  Notes:

  *It appears that 43 beds in Rutherglen Maternity Hospital were wrongly classified in this year. The increase in beds and subsequent reduction is likely to be an artefact.

  **The reduction represents the closure of Rutherglen Maternity Hospital.

  ***This figure represents the closure of Bellshill and Law Maternity Hospitals and the opening of Wishaw General Hospital.

  The general fall in average available staffed beds in neonatal units is accounted for by two reasons.

  1. The closure of maternity hospitals due to the falling birth rate. The falling birth rate has also reduced the need for special care beds in neonatal units.

  2. Developments in technology and care mean that fewer sick babies need to be admitted to neonatal units for special care.

Maternity Services

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies for midwife posts there are, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on vacancies and staff establishments is reported annually by NHS trusts. The latest available figures for midwifery posts are shown in the table.

  Qualified Midwife Vacancies by NHS Board

  Whole Time Equivalent: at 31 March 2003

  

 NHS Board
 Establishment
 Vacancies
 Under 
  Review
 Vacancies 
  as % of establish-ment
 Vacant 
  <3 Months
 Vacant 
  >3 Months
 Vacant
Un-known


 Argyll 
  and Clyde
 153.1
 3.0
  
 2.0%
 2.0%
  
  


 Ayrshire 
  and Arran
 211.9
 2.8
  
 1.3%
 1.3%
  
  


 Borders
 47.6
  
  
  
  
  
  


 Dumfries 
  and Galloway
 104.4
 10.0
  
 9.6%
 4.8%
 4.8%
  


 Fife
 156.1
 0.7
  
 0.4%
 0.4%
  
  


 Forth 
  Valley
 173.9
  
 0.4
  
  
  
  


 Grampian
 291.1
 12.5
  
 4.3%
 1.9%
 2.4%
  


 Greater 
  Glasgow
 327.7
 24.6
  
 7.5%
  
  
 7.5%


 Highland
 148.6
 11.6
 4.8
 7.8%
 4.4%
 3.4%
  


 Lanarkshire
 248.6
  
  
  
  
  
  


 Lothian
 218.0
 9.0
  
 4.1%
 3.2%
 0.9%
  


 Orkney
 7.2
  
  
  
  
  
  


 Shetland
 6.2
  
  
  
  
  
  


 Tayside
 226.9
  
  
  
  
  
  


 Western 
  Isles
 14.7
  
  
  
  
  
  


 Scotland
 2,336.0
 74.2
 5.2
 3.2%
 1.3%
 0.8%
 1.1%



  Notes:

  1. Establishment is the sum of Staff in Post, Post Under Review and Total Vacancies.

  2. The vacancy figures relate to posts vacant at 31 March, irrespective of when the vacancy arose.

  3. Tayside Health Board above is for Tayside Primary Care Trust only. Tayside University Trust were unable to provide data.

Maternity Services

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made with regard to Implementing a Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland .

Malcolm Chisholm: The Framework for Maternity Services establishes clear action points and recommendations to enable NHS boards, trusts and other agencies to put in place maternity services appropriate to the needs of the population and demography of Scotland.

  To support implementation there are a number of areas of work that have, or are being, progressed. Key pieces of work include publication of the work undertaken by the expert group on acute maternity services and the creation of a national maternity services workforce group. There is also the development of a maternity development programme and the development of maternity standards by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. The Executive has also provided funding for regional maternity service co-ordinators.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3471 by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 November 2003, how much was spent on (a) atypical antipsychotic drugs, (b) antipsychotic drugs and (c) methylphenidate in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is given in the following tables. The cost given is the cost of items before addition of any pharmacy fees and deduction of any discount and patient charges. Data in the tables refer to prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors, but do not take into account medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

  (a) Atypical Antipsychotic Medicines

  Atypical Antipsychotic Medicines – Gross Ingredient Cost (£)

  

 NHS Board
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Argyll and Clyde
 544,436
 728,730
 1,023,556
 1,460,012
 1,837,760


 Ayrshire and Arran
 408,131
 577,824
 735,521
 1,022,543
 1,312,898


 Borders
 51,045
 88,583
 121,382
 189,731
 234,741


 Dumfries and Galloway
 215,226
 267,642
 384,586
 512,273
 654,008


 Fife
 271,104
 333,269
 469,378
 659,045
 871,357


 Forth Valley
 241,059
 345,346
 490,306
 717,601
 888,823


 Grampian
 450,870
 639,662
 788,940
 1,078,566
 1,359,273


 Greater Glasgow
 982,125
 1,361,355
 1,866,594
 2,821,239
 3,574,801


 Highland
 217,177
 252,941
 336,356
 489,923
 656,210


 Lanarkshire
 490,328
 717,166
 1,034,954
 1,472,332
 1,874,138


 Lothian
 724,252
 930,581
 1,259,510
 1,678,998
 2,078,745


 Orkney
 11,137
 10,416
 18,266
 22,875
 38,779


 Shetland
 15,114
 37,483
 41,726
 44,264
 53,264


 Tayside
 409,015
 557,846
 755,063
 1,080,940
 1,478,098


 Unknown
 20,834
 1,839
 4,620
 435
 468


 Western Isles
 32,473
 33,879
 45,623
 60,208
 82,694


 Prescribed in Scotland
 5,084,326
 6,884,562
 9,376,381
 13,310,985
 16,996,057



  (b) Antipsychotic Medicines

  Antipsychotic Medicines – Gross Ingredient Cost (£)

  

 NHS Board
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Argyll and Clyde
 696,180
 878,578
 1,183,701
 1,598,508
 1,966,272


 Ayrshire and Arran
 501,205
 679,404
 841,015
 1,121,984
 1,404,738


 Borders
 95,754
 130,933
 165,752
 232,800
 277,439


 Dumfries and Galloway
 259,046
 310,440
 434,399
 561,625
 701,536


 Fife
 378,841
 440,127
 584,926
 768,868
 974,713


 Forth Valley
 396,790
 504,727
 651,976
 867,937
 1,027,348


 Grampian
 642,086
 827,810
 973,253
 1,261,076
 1,539,439


 Greater Glasgow
 1,324,400
 1,729,645
 2,237,876
 3,154,474
 3,873,391


 Highland
 326,529
 368,433
 454,205
 607,804
 768,035


 Lanarkshire
 720,360
 971,433
 1,295,207
 1,711,601
 2,106,489


 Lothian
 975,399
 1,192,690
 1,529,702
 1,930,131
 2,317,162


 Orkney
 17,981
 15,788
 24,772
 29,297
 44,162


 Shetland
 26,975
 46,771
 53,258
 53,872
 60,670


 Tayside
 558,451
 716,571
 916,101
 1,232,372
 1,627,652


 Unknown
 23,326
 2,372
 5,467
 494
 667


 Western Isles
 52,780
 54,640
 68,357
 78,946
 99,667


 Prescribed in Scotland
 6,996,103
 8,870,363
 11,419,967
 15,211,789
 18,789,379



  (c) Methylphenidate Hydrochloride

  Methylphenidate Hydrochloride – Gross Ingredient Cost (£)

  

 NHS Board
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Argyll and Clyde
 15,722
 17,379
 22,256
 23,196
 41,506


 Ayrshire and Arran
 10,548
 16,523
 21,023
 25,060
 50,361


 Borders
 3,649
 4,749
 7,861
 10,272
 15,486


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2,255
 4,549
 6,464
 8,640
 19,271


 Fife
 39,931
 62,425
 73,261
 84,576
 159,889


 Forth Valley
 11,969
 19,927
 23,975
 26,579
 37,626


 Grampian
 34,266
 52,310
 63,684
 69,722
 117,447


 Greater Glasgow
 24,700
 33,371
 36,816
 37,418
 61,403


 Highland
 6,128
 10,548
 13,908
 16,191
 20,985


 Lanarkshire
 14,653
 16,275
 19,127
 20,280
 31,362


 Lothian
 53,817
 67,758
 71,283
 82,662
 102,511


 Orkney
 193
 197
 445
 485
 524


 Shetland
 1,173
 2,324
 3,206
 3,279
 6,227


 Tayside
 32,329
 47,352
 63,911
 72,009
 121,741


 Unknown
 157
 153
 559
 0
 0


 Western Isles
 329
 614
 566
 173
 189


 Prescribed in Scotland
 251,819
 356,454
 428,345
 480,542
 786,528



  The information in the tables has been provided by ISD.

National Health Service

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what remuneration is received by appointed members of Greater Glasgow NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Remuneration of £35,790 and £7,160 per annum is payable for the position of Board Chair and Non-Executive member respectively. This information is published on the Executive’s website at www.scotland.gov.uk/government/public bodies .

People with Disabilities

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide assistance to the shopmobility Highland bus service for local disabled people in Inverness and Dingwall under the Rural Community Transport Initiative and, if so, whether funding will be provided prior to the end of the current financial year.

Nicol Stephen: Shopmobility Highland did not submit a funding application to the latest round of the Rural Community Transport Initiative (RCTI). No funding can be made available in the current financial year, but Shopmobility may apply to the next round of the RCTI in spring 2004.

People with Disabilities

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been (a) allocated and (b) spent in each local authority on the grading of pavements in public areas to improve access for disabled people to shops and other public amenities, in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is up to each local authority how it allocates its funding, taking account of national priorities as well as local needs and priorities.

  Information on the amount spent by each local authority on the grading of pavements is not held centrally.

Police

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many extra police officers were recruited and/or deployed (a) across Scotland, (b) in each police force and (c) in K division in Strathclyde, in both (i) the period from 1998-99 to 2002-03 and (ii) the last fiscal year for which figures are available.

Cathy Jamieson: Information is not held centrally on the assignment of recruits by division within Strathclyde Police nor on the numbers of officers deployed within each division of Strathclyde Police. That information is a matter for Strathclyde Police. Equivalent information at force level across Scotland is shown in the following table.

  

  
 Officers recruited
 Net change in 
  officer numbers


  
 1998-99 to 2002-03
 2002-03
 March 1998 to March 2003
 March 2002 to March 2003


 Central
 165
 36
 49
 20


 Dumfries and Galloway
 131
 42
 19
 -1


 Fife
 272
 79
 61
 22


 Grampian
 361
 92
 67
 27


 Lothian and Borders
 571
 23
 131
 14


 Northern
 164
 34
 30
 8


 Strathclyde
 1,600
 177
 446
 149


 Tayside
 260
 24
 47
 -3


 Scotland
 3,524
 507
 850
 236



  Notes:

  (i) Numbers of officers recruited include first appointments, reinstatements and transfers from other forces. Source: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary annual statistical returns.

  (ii) All figures include full-time and part-time officers. Officer numbers fluctuate over time as numbers of recruits/entrants are offset by numbers of retirements/leavers.

  (iii) Source for figures in columns 4 and 5: Quarterly Strength Returns from forces.

Public Transport

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3052 by Nicol Stephen on 21 October 2003, what representations it has received on re-regulating the bus industry.

Nicol Stephen: Since August 2002 the Executive has received representations from Stirling Council and Midlothian Council regarding additional regulation of the bus industry. The issue is also raised from time to time in parliamentary debates and correspondence from the general public, and is the subject of 2 parliamentary petitions currently with the Local Government and Transport Committee (PE420 & PE569).

Recycling

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question SW2-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, what information it has on how the national targets for recycling household waste as outlined in A Partnership for a Better Scotland compare to the target in the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 that by 2010 every home must have a separated doorstep collection of at least two recyclable materials.

Ross Finnie: The Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 requires English waste collection authorities, from 31 December 2010, to make arrangements for the collection of at least two types of recyclable waste together or individually separated from the rest of the household waste unless they are satisfied that the cost of doing so would be unreasonably high or comparable alternative arrangements are available.

  The act does not extend to Scotland.

  A Partnership for a Better Scotland includes a commitment to set targets for local authorities to recycle or compost 25% of waste by 2006 and 55% by 2020 through increasing the use of doorstep collection and through provision of recycling facilities in every community. This reflects the National Waste Plan (Bib. number 26101), which was published in February 2003 and set out the best practicable environmental option for more sustainable management of municipal waste in Scotland. Implementation of the plan will provide widespread segregated kerbside waste collections of recyclable materials across Scotland (to about 85% of households by 2010 and over 90% by 2020).

Recycling

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, what the reasons are for any differences in household waste recycling targets between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Ross Finnie: The National Waste Plan (Bib. number 26101) sets out our policies on sustainable waste management to 2020. Targets set out in the plan were established on the basis of the findings of 11 Area Waste Plans, which determined the best practicable environmental option for dealing with waste in each area taking account of local circumstances such as distances waste would need to be transported.

Recycling

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question SW2-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, whether any pilot projects are in place, or are planned, with regard to household waste recycling.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, what subsidy is being given to local authorities to implement household waste recycling targets.

Ross Finnie: Through the strategic waste fund all local authorities have already received funding to undertake household waste recycling projects. In addition, more than £230 million is available to local authorities over the next three years from the fund to enable local authorities to achieve national waste plan targets, including targets for recycling.

Recycling

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, how it defines doorstep collection of household waste recycling.

Ross Finnie: "Doorstep collection" is another term for kerbside collection. Annex B of the National Waste Plan describes kerbside segregated collection as "any regular collection of recyclable or compostable materials from premises". It excludes collection services delivered on demand.

Road Safety

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been made available to promote walking and cycling and to reduce traffic accidents in the Highland Council area and which projects have received funds under this allocation.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive has allocated £1,493,000 to Highland Council over the period 2000-06 for safer routes to school and cycling, walking and safer streets projects. The council has used its allocations for the period 2000-04 to develop safer routes to school at 72 schools. A further sum of £1.214 million was allocated to the council over the period 2003-06 to implement 20 mph zones round schools and related safety projects. The Executive is currently identifying a number of sites in the area where 20 mph zones around schools can be implemented. It is expected that the implementation of such zones will be commence before April 2004.

  In 2001-02 some £310,000 was made available from the accident investigation budget to contribute towards improvements at Dochfour Bends and Tullochroam on the A82 as well as upgrading the layout at the A9 Ballinluig Junction. As part of the annual programme of accident investigation studies and improvements a further £438,000 was made available from the 2002-03 budget for sites within the Highland Region. The largest proportion approximately £325,000 went towards junction improvements along the A9 corridor between Perth and Inverness. Other significant expenditure went towards upgrading the bends in the vicinity of Glengarry Guest House on the A82 as well as instigating a study of the route between Tyndrum and Inverness at a cost of £25,000.

  The current financial year has seen a further £238,000 made available so far for accident investigation work. This is in addition to £132,000 towards the provision of upgraded signing and gateway treatments at townships on the A9 north of Inverness.

Roads

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with owners of domestic dwellings on the route of the proposed on-line upgrade of the A80 in respect of the impact of any upgrade on their property and, if so, how many owners it has had discussion with.

Nicol Stephen: Discussions have to date taken place with 13 owners of domestic dwellings.

Roads

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has in respect of costing and proposals to complete the Edinburgh bypass between the Maybury roundabout and Barnton.

Nicol Stephen: There are no plans in the current programme to extend the Edinburgh by-pass from Maybury to Barnton.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish Criminal Record Office is funded.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) is a common police service established through section 36 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 under which the facilities and services supplied by the organisation are provided and maintained by the Scottish ministers for promoting the efficiency or effectiveness of the police in Scotland. Police authorities and joint police boards currently will meet 50% of SCRO’s expenditure in accordance with the Common Police Service (Scotland) Determination 2003 which came into force on 1 April 2003. The Scottish ministers also contribute 50%.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what posts were held by staff from the Scottish Criminal Record Office who signed off final reports in respect of each of its last 100 cases.

Cathy Jamieson: The posts held by the staff from the Scottish Criminal Record Office who signed off the last 100 Joint Reports were Principal Fingerprint Officers, Senior Fingerprint Officers and Fingerprint Officers.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the training requirements are for Scottish Criminal Record Office staff in respect of non-numeric fingerprinting evidence; what performance targets have been set for the quality of such evidence, and what performance targets have been achieved to date.

Cathy Jamieson: A non-numeric standard for fingerprint identification has not yet been adopted in Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out by the Scottish Enterprise Community Land Unit since its inception.

Mr Jim Wallace: The main thrust of Scottish Enterprise’s (SE) activity in relation to community land acquisition and/or development is related to the New Opportunities Fund Scottish Land Fund (NOFSLF) which is administered by a joint Scottish Enterprise/Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) partnership.

  In addition to support related to NOFSLF activity, SE’s Community Land Unit consists of a central first point of contact who coordinates with Local Enterprise Companies across the SE Network, SE’s Rural Policy Group, and liaises with HIE’s Community Land Unit. HIE have developed expertise in this area which SE draws upon as necessary.

  Prior to the establishment of the NOFSLF, SE invested approximately £150,000 in supporting activities related to property and business development on community-purchased land.

  Scottish Enterprise has not pro-actively promoted rural community land purchase for its own sake, but has supported such purchases in relation to the development of local economies.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when Scottish Water expects drinking water supplies will meet relevant national standards in relation to trihalomethanes.

Ross Finnie: This is an operational matter for the Chief Executive of Scottish Water and I have asked him to write to you about this matter.

Skye Bridge

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a table showing how the balance outstanding on the Skye Bridge contract reduces annually by net discounted tolls.

Nicol Stephen: We are currently examining in detail all of the financial information relating to the Skye Bridge project. This information, and the detailed terms of the contract itself, are now the subject of commercially confidential negotiations with Skye Bridge Limited, with a view to ending the discredited toll regime for the Skye Bridge.

Skye Bridge

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2090 by Nicol Stephen on 10 November 2003, what the legal basis is for negotiations relating to a buy-out being subject to commercial confidentiality.

Nicol Stephen: The contract documentation relating to the Skye Bridge project includes a confidentiality clause which requires both parties to the agreement to hold in confidence all documents and other information supplied by and on behalf of the other.

Water Charges

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to prevent water or sewerage service retail licensees from charging high amounts for services under the provision of the Draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: Under the proposals outlined in the Executive’s consultation on the draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill (Bib. number 29575), the amounts charged by retailers will reflect the services that they offer to non-household customers and customers’ willingness to pay for these services. As is made clear, in paragraph A23 of the consultation paper, the charges set by new retailers will not be regulated, but will instead be agreed between supplier and customer in a competitive market.

Water Charges

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue the Transitional Water and Waste Water Charges Scheme in any form for domestic water users beyond March 2004.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is assessing the impact that ending the scheme will have. It is doing this in light of the harmonisation of charges that has taken place since the scheme was introduced. It remains the case, however, that the main means of assisting vulnerable groups are improving efficiency at Scottish Water and retaining the link between water charges and council tax banding and discount arrangements.

Water Charges

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how effective the Transitional Water and Waste Water Charges Scheme has been in providing assistance to the poorest households.

Ross Finnie: The objective of the Transitional Water and Sewerage Charges Reduction Scheme was to help low income households adjust to higher water and wastewater charges. The focus of the scheme was on households in band A, in the former North of Scotland Water Authority where increases were particularly steep, and those in band B across the whole of Scotland. The scheme has been effective in achieving this.

  It remains the case, however, that the main means of assisting vulnerable groups are improving efficiency at Scottish Water, which will ease pressure on charges and retaining the link between water charges and council tax banding and discount arrangements.

Water Charges

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will address in a revised system of water relief for domestic consumers the issue of closing the gap between the income support allowance for water and sewerage and the actual charges levied.

Ross Finnie: Income support is a reserved matter for the UK Government.

Water Charges

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to investigate the provision of support for those in need and help reduce the level of bad debt with water and sewerage charges, as referred to in the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland’s report Strategic Review of Charges 2002-2006 .

Ross Finnie: Since the Strategic Review of Charges in 2002 the problem of bad debt has been diminishing, as the rate of collection has improved for both domestic and non-domestic customers.

  The main means of supporting vulnerable customers is by improving efficiency at Scottish Water, which will ease pressure on charges and by retaining the link between water charges and council tax banding and discount arrangements.

Water Charges

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the Water Customer Consultation Panel’s report Affordability of Domestic Water and Wastewater Charges and the recommendation that the scale and scope of the transitional relief scheme should be extended.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is not aware that the Water Customer Consultation Panels have published a report on Affordability of Domestic Water and Wastewater Charges .

Water Services

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what customer protection is provided for in the Draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: Paragraph A23 of the consultation paper on the draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill (Bib. number 29575) proposes that the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland’s duties should be extended. Under this proposal the Commissioner would be given a general function to promote the interests of all customers connected to the public networks, whether served by Scottish Water or a retailer.

Water Services

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits it has identified in respect of disallowing competition in the sewage treatment sector.

Ross Finnie: The benefits of prohibiting third parties from drawing sewage from the public networks for treatment, are set out at paragraphs A11 and A12 of the consultation paper on the draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill (Bib. number 29575). These benefits include minimising the risk of interruption to supply and damage to public infrastructure, which could result in pollution, sewage flooding and damage to the environment.

  As the consultation paper makes clear, waste water treatment by third parties who are not connected to the public networks will be unaffected by the bill.

Water Services

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why it considers that the household sector would not benefit from competition in the provision of sewerage services.

Ross Finnie: Paragraphs A14 to A16 of the consultation paper on the draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill (Bib. number 29575) make clear that the Executive considers, in light of the current arrangements for charging the household sector, that it is unlikely that retail competition for water or sewerage services would develop in a manner that would benefit all domestic customers.